BMW M5

Teledude

Teledude

Teledude

Soldato
Joined
4 Dec 2003
Posts
2,847
Ok following on from my last thread ive decided im now financially secure enough to warrant getting a decent motor with the help of a loan. So have ditched the Omega idea! ;)

Ive searched the trader and was shocked to find M5's for under 15k :eek: :D

Bad plan? Insurance will be paid monthly so not "too" much of an issue...
 
To me with cars, insurance is a given..if you have something a bit rapid you can expect to pay quite a bit. But if you have to seriously consider if you can afford the running costs I wouldn't go for it IMO.

I imagine proper servicing through a decent garage and just fuel would cost a fair bit on such a car....
 
I personally would worry about one that cheap, the early ones are prone to problems with the VANOS which can be expensive to put right. You really want to spend around £20k+ to get a good post facelift one.

Fuel economy isn't that bad, I get 22.5mpg with mostly town driving, servicing is ok if you stick to independants rather than the main dealers.
 
Beepcake said:
I personally would worry about one that cheap, the early ones are prone to problems with the VANOS which can be expensive to put right. You really want to spend around £20k+ to get a good post facelift one.

Fuel economy isn't that bad, I get 22.5mpg with mostly town driving, servicing is ok if you stick to independants rather than the main dealers.
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Any idea how much per year if nothing major goes wrong mate?
 
Depends how far you drive, obviously :)

It's variable servicing, so how you drive dictates how long between services, mine's been averaging about 12-14k between services IIRC.
 
isn't the general rule for these sorts of cars as follows?

can you afford to buy 2?
if so you can afford to buy and run one.
 
Teledude said:
Although reading around it seems its common place to spend thousands a year keeping them on the road!! hmmmm :(
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Well I spend £600ish a year on my Honda (not including insurance, MoT or tax) so I dont know what you were expecting? :p

Friend of mine has an M5 - awesome machine.

Lots of little things break all the time, boot lock, lights on the steering wheel etc. I really rib him about it.
He has the BMW warrenty so its all paid for everytime, but without that the costs would be serverely punishing, it was a "no no" to not have the warrenty.
He originally bought one for 27k, took it back due to problems and they refunded his money. He then bought one for 16k and although its a higher mileage its nicer.
 
Teledude said:
Any idea how much per year if nothing major goes wrong mate?
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most people recommend getting one with a BMW w'tee which you can extend indefinitely as long as you keep it up. problem is that this is going up from £960 ish a year to (apparently) £1800 with a £250 excess. so you cant fix the price of maintenance as it were, as this a long with services and consumables means you could easily predict your yearly costs.

if the prices are accurate i wont be keeping my car waranteed as on a statistical basis its really not worth it at that price. i have had nothing going wrong with mine in 6 months of owning it. and with the £250 excess it puts you off getting little niggles sorted. i also believe they have removed supension components from the warantee too!

regards petrol - driving in london i often see 14-16mpg. motorway 22-23mpg is driving sensibly. 25mpg if you set the cruise at about 80mph.

IMO its not that bad to run for the car that it is. but then dont forget the car that it is - a 60k 5.0L V8 - not cheap!
 
I'd heard rumours of the BMW warranty terms changing, guess we'll have to wait and see on the final details.

It's going to make a decent 3rd party warranty a lot more desirable. Even if it doesn't cover much more than engine+electrics, having no excess it much better. I've had mine for 18months now and never had anything go wrong (touch wood!).
 
Why not compromise?

The BMW 540i Sport and 530i Sport offer much of what the M5 does - the looks, the interior, much of the handling, the cruising ability, but without some of the drawbacks such as running costs, harsh fuel economy, etc.

They are no M5, but they are great stepping stones to an M5. They look as near as damnit identical as well, and the interior is mostly the same also :)

Plus you'll get an absolute MINTER of a 530i Sport for your budget.

530i Sport is 0-60 6.7 seconds, 155mph
540i Sport is 0-60 5.9 seconds, 155mph

Could also consider the 530d Sport - not as quick 0-60 but midrange performance is just astounding. Oh, and it does 40mpg.

The E39 M5 is my favourite car of all time and I absolutely MUST own one - but before I do, I'll be getting a 530i Sport instead to last until I can afford to properly run an M5 :)
 
Beepcake said:
I'd heard rumours of the BMW warranty terms changing, guess we'll have to wait and see on the final details.

It's going to make a decent 3rd party warranty a lot more desirable. Even if it doesn't cover much more than engine+electrics, having no excess it much better. I've had mine for 18months now and never had anything go wrong (touch wood!).
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check out the looooonnnngggg threads on BM3W. doesn sound good.

want to get a few little bits on mind done before the warranty runs out in april. (little bits includes a new clutch if i can ;) )


540i sport would be a nice alternative. still get the V8 and big torque / most of the performance. but a fair bit cheaper to run and insure.
 
jamoor said:
isn't the general rule for these sorts of cars as follows?

can you afford to buy 2?
if so you can afford to buy and run one.
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to be honest this is probably THE most inaccurate and regularly quoted piece of advice in here.
 
The e39 M5 is a great car, don't forget about the e34 3.8 6 speed M5, not a bad car either, not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper...
 
E39 > All cars in the whole god damn world*

*Warning: Opinion may show traces of bias and/or be tainted by rose coloured spectacles.
 
[TW]Fox said:
E39 > All cars in the whole god damn world*

*Warning: Opinion may show traces of bias and/or be tainted by rose coloured spectacles.
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Just don't mention the e60 eh? :p
 
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